Rediscovering Norman Zammitt, a 1960s Visionary of the Light and Space Movement

Karma gallery in New York has opened 'Norman Zammitt: A Degree of Light', the first New York exhibition in nearly 60 years dedicated to the late Light and Space movement artist. The show features two key bodies of work: his laminated-acrylic pole sculptures and hard-edge 'Band Paintings', reintroducing Zammitt's pioneering colorist practice to a contemporary audience. Zammitt, who died in 2007, was a Canadian-born artist of Mohawk and Italian descent who studied at Otis College of Art and Design and was represented by Felix Landau's gallery in Los Angeles.

2025 Fall Arts Guide: The Season’s Best Visual Art Exhibits From Big Museums to Small Galleries

The 2025 Fall Arts Guide highlights three visual art exhibits in Washington, D.C. 'Arab Pop Art: Between East and West' at the Middle East Institute features 35 works by 14 Arab and diaspora artists, blending Western pop art with SWANA cultural motifs. 'Vincent Ricardel: Chasing Light' at gallery neptune & brown presents 15 photographs spanning diverse styles and locations. 'Rik Freeman: Wade in the Waters' opens Sept. 24, showcasing oil paintings.

'Both Sides of the Line: Carmen Herrera & Leon Polk Smith' at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, USA

The University of Michigan Museum of Art presents 'Both Sides of the Line: Carmen Herrera & Leon Polk Smith' from 30 August 2025 to 4 January 2026. The exhibition features over 45 works—including paintings, works on paper, and three-dimensional objects—that explore the creative dialogue between the two geometric abstraction pioneers, who were neighbors and friends. It is the first time their work has been shown together at this scale, highlighting Herrera's crisp lines and bold colors alongside Smith's sweeping curves and expansive forms.

Discover Highlights from the 2025 Aspen Art Fair

The 2025 Aspen Art Fair returns to the Hotel Jerome for its second edition, running through August 2, with over 40 exhibitors from more than 15 countries. The fair has more than doubled in size from its inaugural year, now featuring 44 galleries, curated projects, conversations, and cultural programming. Highlights include a solo exhibition by Marc Dennis at Harper’s, featuring works inspired by the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, and Marjorie Strider’s Pop Art relief paintings at Galerie Gmurzynska. The fair is part of Aspen Art Week, which also includes the Aspen Art Museum’s ArtCrush Gala and Auction, Anderson Ranch Arts Center conversations, and public art projects.

Women on the Verge: Five Museums in Maine Showcase Nicole Wittenberg and Ann Craven

Five museums across Maine are simultaneously presenting exhibitions featuring the work of painters Nicole Wittenberg and Ann Craven, in a coordinated initiative titled "Women on the Verge." The participating institutions include the Portland Museum of Art, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland, the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, and the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. Each venue is showing a distinct body of work by either Wittenberg or Craven, highlighting their vibrant, often nature-inspired paintings that explore themes of femininity, perception, and the natural world.

Marquee May auctions in New York come at a volatile moment

New York's marquee spring auctions, beginning May 12, are facing significant headwinds from President Donald Trump's second-term policies, particularly the 'Liberation Day' tariffs and resulting stock-market volatility. Phillips deputy chairman Robert Manley confirms at least one eight-figure work was pulled from sale due to tariffs. The combined Modern and contemporary auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips carry an estimated $1.1bn to $1.5bn in art—the lowest total estimate for spring sales since 2010, roughly $250m lower than May 2024. No nine-figure-estimate lots have been consigned, and the number of catalogued lots is the lowest since 2007 (excluding pandemic and recession years). Single-owner collections dominate, with Christie's securing the $200m Leonard and Louise Riggio collection, including a Piet Mondrian estimated at $50m, and works from Anne and Sid Bass. Sotheby's offers collections from dealers Daniella Luxembourg and others.

Ten Highlights From New York’s Spring Marquee Auctions

New York's spring marquee auctions are set for May 2025, with Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips presenting strong lineups after a 25% drop in total public sales in 2024. Highlights include the $250 million Leonard and Louise Riggio collection at Christie's, featuring Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (est. $50 million), and Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince* (est. over $70 million) at Sotheby's. Other top lots include Lucio Fontana's *The End of God*, Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Baby Boom*, a Rothko from the Bass mansion, Claude Monet's *Crepuscular Peupliers*, Olga de Amaral's evening sale debut, a trove of 40 Roy Lichtenstein works, and an Ed Ruscha piece. The sales test market resilience amid supply constraints and a cautious art market.

Who’s That Nude Figure on a Washing Machine Outside the New Museum?

British artist Sarah Lucas has unveiled a new public sculpture titled "VENUS VICTORIA" (2026) at the New Museum's entrance plaza on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan. The work, which will remain on view for two years, features a monumental nude female figure with flailing arms and large pink breasts perched atop a dusty washing machine, wearing bright yellow high heels. Lucas adapted the figure from her ongoing "Bunnies" series (1997–present), which uses knotted pantyhose and found objects. The sculpture was unveiled on May 12, 2026, inaugurating a decade-long series of public commissions by women artists at the museum.

Coveted Rothko From Robert Mnuchin’s Collection Nets $85.8 Million in New York

A major Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), from the collection of the late financier and dealer Robert Mnuchin, sold for $85.8 million at Sotheby’s New York, becoming the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction. The work, estimated at $70–100 million, was part of an 11-lot sale dedicated to Mnuchin’s collection, which also includes works by Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, and Franz Kline. A phone bidder won the painting, with Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, handling the bid.

Pussy Riot and FEMEN Join Forces in Punk Protest in Venice: ‘Russia Kills! Biennale Exhibits!’

On Wednesday morning, Pussy Riot and FEMEN led a protest outside the Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, chanting slogans like “Russia kills! Biennale exhibits!” and “Blood is Russia’s art!” Dozens of protesters, some in pink balaclavas and others bare-chested with floral crowns, gathered in the Giardini under light rain, carrying guitars and blasting punk rock and hip-hop. The action was organized by Nadya Tolokonnikova and other Pussy Riot members alongside FEMEN, a Ukrainian-founded women’s movement. They released pink, yellow, and blue smoke, and Tolokonnikova criticized the Biennale for allowing Russian participation while artists who oppose the war in Ukraine are imprisoned. She proposed an alternative exhibition, “Resistance Imprisoned,” currently on view in Strasbourg, featuring incarcerated artists.

It’s Gabriele Münter’s World, We’re Just Living in It

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is hosting "Contours of a World," a retrospective dedicated to Gabriele Münter, a co-founder of the Blue Rider group. The exhibition moves beyond the shadow of her long-time partner Wassily Kandinsky, showcasing her distinct approach to German Expressionism through photography, intimate domestic scenes, and vibrant landscapes. Unlike her contemporaries who leaned toward total abstraction, Münter utilized bold outlines and layered compositions to create a dynamic, phenomenological experience of seeing.

Au Louvre, l’ambitieuse restauration du cycle de Marie de Médicis

The Louvre Museum in Paris is undertaking an ambitious restoration of Peter Paul Rubens's monumental cycle of 24 paintings depicting the life of Marie de Médicis. The project, which will take four years and cost €4 million funded by the Société des Amis du Louvre, begins this autumn with the paintings being restored in situ in the Médicis Gallery. The gallery will close in May to prepare the space as a restoration workshop, where two teams of 10–15 restorers will work simultaneously on cleaning, relining, and filling gaps. The last major restoration of the cycle dates to the 1950s, and recent diagnostics revealed yellowed varnish, discordant repaints, and flaking paint layers that risk irreversible loss.

Rothko Sells for $85.8 Million, Almost Surpasses Auction Record

Sotheby’s New York sold Mark Rothko’s painting *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957) for $85.8 million on Thursday, making it the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction. The work, part of Rothko’s postwar Color Field series, was offered from the private collection of the late art dealer Robert Mnuchin, whose estate also included works by Willem de Kooning. The Mnuchin sale totaled $166.3 million, with de Kooning’s *Untitled* (1970) fetching $8.8 million and *Untitled XLII* (1983) reaching $10.2 million. Bidding lasted about four minutes, with the winning bid placed via phone with Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe.

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A restoration of Jean-Antoine Watteau's 1718–19 painting *Pierrot* (also known as *Gilles*) at the Louvre has revealed that a shadowy figure on the left side of the canvas—long identified as a doctor or grifter named Crispin—bears a striking resemblance to Watteau's own self-portrait. The discovery came after conservators removed an aged yellow varnish, prompting new questions about the painting's meaning and authorship. The work is currently featured in the Louvre exhibition “A New Look at Watteau,” part of the broader program “Figures of the Fool,” running through February 3, 2025.

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P. Staff's current exhibition at David Zwirner in New York transforms the gallery's Upper East Side townhouse into a haunting, body-centric experience. The show features a new video titled *Penetration* (2025), split across three floors, depicting a person with a laser beamed at their bare stomach, alongside sculptures with wood spikes under latex drapes and ambient sounds of a beating heart. The installation evokes a dread of having a body, with jaundiced yellow window films and disjointed sensory elements creating an uncomfortable, dysphoric atmosphere.

Archibald prize 2026: Richard Lewer’s portrait of artist Iluwanti Ken wins $100,000

Richard Lewer has won the 2026 Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture award, for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer, and senior artist Iluwanti Ken. The $100,000 prize was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with the judging panel selecting the work unanimously from 59 finalists. Lewer, a six-time Archibald finalist, painted Ken life-size against a yellow ochre background, capturing her quiet authority and role as a working artist. The Wynne Prize for landscape painting was also awarded to Gaypalani Waṉambi for *The Waṉambi tree*.

art auction new york record breaking

Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914-16) sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's on November 18, becoming the second-most expensive painting ever sold at auction and the most expensive work ever sold by the house. The sale was part of New York's marquee November auctions, which generated over $2 billion in a single week—more than 50 percent above last year's total—driven by high-profile estates including that of cosmetics heir Leonard A. Lauder. Other notable sales included Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* for $62.2 million at Christie's, Marc Chagall's *Le songe du Roi David* for $26.5 million, and Frida Kahlo's *El sueño (La cama)* for $55 million, setting a new record for the artist and the highest sum for a work by a female artist at auction. Phillips also sold a juvenile Triceratops skeleton named CERA for $5.4 million.

Private Sales Are Surging as Auction Houses Lean into Exclusive, Experience-Led Selling

Sotheby's and Christie's are increasingly turning to private, invitation-only sales to move high-value artworks, bypassing the traditional auction model. Sotheby's recent "The Apartment" exhibition in London, featuring works by David Hockney, George Condo, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, sold half its $40 million inventory before the public even saw it. Christie's reported that its three most expensive paintings sold in 2025 were all private transactions, with the house trading $1.5 billion privately last year—nearly a quarter of its global sales.

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Christie’s fall marquee 20th-century evening sales on Monday night generated a combined $690 million across two auctions, far exceeding the pre-sale low estimate of $534.7 million. The first sale featured 18 lots from the collection of the late Robert and Patricia Ross Weis, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, and Rothko, while the second 62-lot sale included pieces by Calder, Hockney, Chagall, and Giacometti. Bidding wars drove 16 lots to sell at or above their high estimates, with adviser Ralph DeLuca winning several high-profile battles, including a Matisse painting for $32.3 million and a Max Ernst sculpture for $20.2 million. The sell-through rate was 97% by value and 96% by lot, with only one withdrawn lot and three unsold works.

christies hauls in 690 million at robust 20th century art sale led by 62 million rothko 2714467

Christie’s kicked off the fall auction season in New York with a two-part 20th-century art sale that brought in approximately $690 million, led by Mark Rothko’s *No. 31 Yellow Stripe (1958)*, which sold for $62.2 million. The evening featured 18 works from the collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, totaling $218 million, followed by a 61-lot main sale that realized $471.7 million. Other top lots included Claude Monet’s *Nymphéas (1907)* at $45.4 million and a new auction record for Beauford Delaney’s *The Sage Black (1967)* at $1.5 million.

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Christie’s spring marquee auctions in New York brought in a combined $489 million with fees across two evening sales: the Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works sale and the 20th Century sale. The Riggio collection, featuring 39 works heavy on Surrealism, modernism, and Minimalism, achieved $272 million with buyer’s premium, led by Piet Mondrian’s Composition With Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue (1922) at $47.56 million and René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1949) at $34.9 million. The 20th Century sale included major canvases by Monet, Rothko, and Warhol, but the hammer total of $409 million fell below the $446 million pre-sale low estimate, indicating the auction house did not meet expectations.

art cool summer activities new york museum guide

Cultured's guide to summer art activities in New York highlights five museum exhibitions, each paired with the gallery's air-conditioned temperature setting. Featured shows include Temitayo Ogunbiyi's first institutional solo at the Noguchi Museum, MoMA's "Woven Histories" exploring textile art, Saya Woolfalk's "Empathetic Universe" at the Museum of Arts and Design, Ben Shahn's "On Nonconformity" at the Jewish Museum, and "Vermeer's Love Letters" at the newly renovated Frick Collection.

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The US Marshals Service is auctioning four artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Diane Arbus that were surrendered to the US Department of Justice in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The online-only auction, run by Gaston and Sheehan auction house in Texas, began on July 16 and closes on September 4, with no buyer's premium. The works include Basquiat's *Self Portrait* (1982) and *Red Man One* (1982), Picasso's *Tête de taureau et broc* (1939), and Arbus's *Child with a Toy Hand Grenade* (1962). The pieces were linked to fugitive financier Jho Low and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who surrendered them after they were located in Switzerland.

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An owner of a pawn shop in Los Angeles, Glenn Steven Bednarsh, has been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods for allegedly conspiring to sell a stolen Andy Warhol trial proof print of Vladimir Lenin. The print, a unique 1987 screenprint from an edition of 46, was purchased by Bednarsh for $6,000 in February 2021. He then enlisted co-conspirator Brian Alec Light to help sell it through Heritage Auctions. The scheme unraveled when a gallerist identified the work as stolen, leading to FBI involvement. Light has already pleaded guilty, and Bednarsh faces arraignment in the coming weeks.

You can spray that again! New York drenched in colour – in pictures

The Guardian published a photo essay featuring Harry Gruyaert's vibrant street photography of New York City, spanning over 50 years. The Belgian Magnum photographer captures the city's energy through bold color and candid moments—children playing in fire hydrants, yellow cabs, neon-lit diners, and diverse neighborhoods. The images are accompanied by text from French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch, who provides fictional vignettes that blur reality and imagination.

Our 6 Favorite Artworks from Women-Led Galleries Now

art criticism nayland blake david rimanelli review

Nayland Blake presents a three-part exhibition at Matthew Marks Gallery in New York, featuring the retrospective "Sex in the 90s" curated by Beau Rutland and a new installation titled "Session." The show spans two gallery spaces on West 22nd Street, displaying a diverse array of works including plexiglass boxes of mass-market paperbacks, graphite drawings, a yellow stuffed bunny with Kaposi sarcoma lesions, and sculptures referencing kink and fetish culture. The new work "Session" uses artisanal implements of pleasure and pain clipped to black chains, evoking personal narrative and autobiography.

Aileen Murphy Sleeps on the Ceiling

Aileen Murphy's third exhibition at Deborah Schamoni in Munich, titled "Sleeps on the Ceiling," presents five new paintings dominated by rosé and pink tones. The works revolve around a table-like motif, featuring animals, disembodied limbs, and surreal details such as a white cat with red eyes and a yellow snake. Murphy, who completed her studies in 2018, blends abstract gestures with detailed figuration, creating scenes that are both playful and uncanny. The exhibition's title is borrowed from Elizabeth Bishop's poem "Sleeping on the Ceiling" (1946), reflecting a dissolution of domestic interior, urban monument, and psychological landscape.

Art March Hong Kong | 8 Kusama pumpkins head to auction during Basel week – here’s every one of them

Eight signature pumpkin works by Yayoi Kusama are set to headline the spring auction season in Hong Kong, coinciding with Art Basel week. Major auction houses including Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams are offering a diverse range of these iconic motifs, featuring everything from a massive two-meter-tall fiberglass sculpture to rare red and yellow canvases. Notable highlights include a unique 2015 sculpture at Sotheby’s with a high estimate of HK$60 million and a rare red pumpkin painting at Bonhams.

Kicking off New York November sales, Christie's nets healthy $690m from double-header 20th-century auction

Christie's kicked off New York's November auction season with a double-header 20th-century evening sale on November 17, generating $574.7 million before fees and $690 million with fees. The sale featured 80 lots, including 18 from the collection of supermarket magnate Robert Weis and his wife Patricia Ross Weis, with highlights such as Pablo Picasso's *La Lecture (Marie-Thérèse)* selling for $45.4 million and Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* achieving $62.1 million. Two artist records were set, including for Leonor Fini, and the sale achieved a 94% sell-through rate, with 59 lots backed by third-party or house guarantees.